Adventures in Sudbury

This is being written in the airport in Sudbury. I am anxious to be on my way and I am kicking myself for checking my baggage and not removing my book from it first. I am stuck in the airport with nothing to really do. Even though my iPhone is equipped with dozens of games and the wonderful world of the internet, I would prefer just to sit and read. It has already been a long day.

I won’t mention work because that is dull and not of interest to anyone. It would also be a breach of my work’s code of conduct. I think I would violate an international law or rule as well. I should really know better. Regardless, work was fine and I did a good job.

My Sudbury adventure isn’t too exciting but it is worth noting. On my way from my secret work location that was certainly not a mine, I stopped at the Big Nickel. I figured since I was in Sudbury for the first time in 10 years, I should really see this Nickel. The last time I was here I didn’t bother and while it isn’t some great regret of mine, I think I should see the damn thing.

Apparently the Big Nickel closes. Seriously, the driveway up to the site told me the Museum was closed. The Nickel is outside for crying out loud. How can you close outside? I figured I would drive on through anyway. There was a sign at the gate that said, “Stop” but since there wasn’t a blockade or someone sitting in the booth I figured I was safe to keep going. I drove all the way up and parked my car. I could see the Nickel but I was on the wrong side of the sun. This picture would suck (and it does) if I don’t have the right light exposure. I looked at the pathway up to the Nickel and a sign told me it was closed as well. I didn’t trust the sign but I should have trusted the snow. I decided that I wasn’t leaving Sudbury without a picture of the Nickel and I ventured forth. It turns out the snow was kind of deep. I couldn’t really tell the depth until I found my knee buried in snow. I refused to give up and I kept going. I made it to the platform and got my picture. My trip back to my car involved more snow and more wet shoes, socks and pants but damn it, I got a picture of the Big Nickel and no one was there to stop me. I don’t think I broken any laws (well I may have trespassed) but I think the picture is worth it. It isn’t everyday you get to see the world’s largest Nickel. Take that you Big Ball of Twine or that giant fake apple on the 401. I got a picture of the Nickel!

 

The rest of the day wasn’t as eventful or rewarding as my trip to the Nickel. I wandered around a dull mall with my wet pants and I ate dinner at a place called Mr Prime Rib. Oddly enough I had Prime Rib. It was pretty damn tasty. It was also pretty big. Now I know why they call it Mr.

Overall I can’t really complain about the city of Sudbury. The people I met were pretty decent and I am happy that I ate at three local restaurants that I can’t find anywhere else. Sure the Mexican place was pretty crappy but Mr. Prime Rib was good and the fish place that I didn’t write about was okay (except for a little rubbery seafood, but the scallops were good).

I kind of liked Sudbury. It was cold though.

 

Bad Mexican and $5 Pie

Still in Sudbury.

My night was like no other. You cannot fathom how I spent my evening. I had no idea that the city of Sudbury had so much to offer.

That’s what I would have been writing if I bothered to venture out. Instead I had dinner at a Mexican place a block or two away from my hotel and was horribly disappointed. I think this “Authentic Mexican Food” place was a joke. The food tasted like it was frozen and reheated and the service was pretty crappy. I ordered and Empanada with beans and I think I got it with rice. I even had to check the bill later to see if I did order beans and sure enough that’s what she wrote down. I sure as hell didn’t get it though. I was also off put by a Mexican place not placing tortilla chips and salsa on the table when you order an entrée. What kind of Mexican place doesn’t do that?

I left that place in search of a good diner for a cup of coffee and a piece of pie. If this was my one bad meal for the week, I wanted something savoury. I walked around downtown Sudbury for a bit and I realised a few things. The first thing is that Sudbury (downtown) is basically shutdown after 5pm. There weren’t a lot of people and most of the stores were closed. I also noticed a heck of a lot of security guards walking around the stores that were open. That left me feeling a little uneasy. Why the need for all the guards? The final thing was that I never saw a woman walking alone. In fact I rarely saw anyone walking the streets alone. Again, this left me feeling like I should get off the streets. I found a place called Michelle’s Cafe and Confectionary. I had no idea what the Confectionary was supposed to be. But I saw a Lemon Pie and I figured I had to try. I can’t really describe how odd the place was. The lady behind the counter was also cooking as she took my order and told me to sit down. Someone else brought the pie over and an empty coffee cup. She looked in the cup and said, “Huh, I forgot the coffee.” She left and brought me the coffee. The pie was incredibly tasty. It was fresh and delicious. The coffee ended up being pretty good as well. I think they used one of those Tassimo makers.  I saw it sitting next to the cashier later. But it was pretty good. I was satisfied. I was offered more coffee but I declined. I sat waiting for a while then I realised that I just had to walk to the cashier to pay. They were not dropping off a bill. I stood at the cashier for a while one person swept, another was outside smoking and the third person was cutting onions. Eventually the smoker saw me and told someone to take care of me. The onion cutter had no idea what anything cost. The sweeper called over that the pie was $5 and the coffee was $1.47. I eventually paid around $8 for a piece of pie and a coffee. It was far more expensive than I had anticipated. But the pie was pretty good.

Once that trip was over I walked back to my hotel passing the sketchiest stripper bar ever. I passed on watching TV and I read for a bit. I was feeling exhausted and before I knew what was going on I woke up at 1am. Realising I fell asleep at 8:30, I gave up and went back to sleep.

And that was my exciting evening in Sudbury

 

Subbury and the Oscars

I am in Sudbury.

I won’t complain about the city being cold (but it is). I won’t complain that the city was all but shutdown at 6pm and I couldn’t find an open grocery store to buy food (it was). I won’t complain that my hotel is under construction (it is) and I finally won’t complain that the pool was rancid and smelled (both true). I will just be happy that I have a job and this is one of the slight downsides to traveling. However, it has made my devotion to Dooku a little more difficult to follow. The 30-year-old treadmill in the “fitness room” will make my exercising a little hard to do as well. But oh well. Life goes on and it is only 2 days. I also still need to find the giant nickel. I probably drove by it last night but between the darkness, the snow and my desire to find my way around, I most likely missed it.

I didn’t watch the Oscars either. My quick Google search tells me that The Artist won a lot of awards, Woody Allen won again, Martin Scorsese did not and it was another pretty dull affair. I can’t say I am too unhappy that I missed although I read there was a funny bit about a focus group for the Wizard of Oz. I kind of wished I saw that. Instead I was driving around Sudbury, running on a death trap and washing the smell of really bad pool water off of my skin.

Now I am off to find a place that serves breakfast at 6am. I have to be at the work site at 7:15 and the restaurant in the hotel opens at 7. That makes finding food a little more difficult than I thought. I won’t blame Sudbury for that one. I blame myself.

 

Nickel or Oscars?

As predicted, this storm that was going to destroy life as we know it was just another snowfall. Regardless the school board in Waterloo Region cancelled all buses but kept the schools open. This doesn’t really make much sense. Why cancel buses due to safety but keep the school open? It sends the message that it is okay for teachers, students and staff to drive to school but not the school bus operators. Does this mean the bus drivers are just really bad drivers that can’t be trusted in the snow? It’s stupid. It isn’t even bad driving on the streets. The radio is still telling me how bad the drive will be in the morning….it is the morning and it isn’t bad.

Sigh. It’s really silly.

Elsewhere in the news…..

Apparently the Academy Awards are this weekend and I completely forgot. I will probably end up watching some of it since I will be in a Sudbury hotel by myself. I will be pretty bored and I may end up watching it. I don’t really have any desire to but I don’t have much of a choice. I suppose I could read. Or I could go see the Nickel. Would that be interesting?

 

What Does the Tooth Fairy do with All Those Teeth?

The weather forecast for Southern Ontario is dire for tonight and tomorrow. They are predicting a lot of snow and a horrible, garish drive in the morning. All of the news stations are leading with this life changing story that will be bound to alter the history of humanity. Or this storm will never happen and we will get all bent out of shape for nothing. I am betting on the nothing. I am going to get everything I need prepared today, I am going to take my computer home and I am going to be ready for my lovely travel to Sudbury on Sunday a day ahead of time and it will be for nothing.  I don’t trust the forecast. These are the same people that predicted a colder than normal winter and I have been wearing shorts to the gym most evenings since it has been downright balmy. Balmy!

Once the news was over reporting about how terrible this oncoming torrent of storm will be, they told me that the poor economy has had an effect on the tooth fairy. Apparently her (or his if you like Dwayne Johnson) average tooth price has dropped to $2.52 a tooth to $2.10. So not only are gas prices high, but kids are getting ripped off for their teeth. The economy is affecting everyone. Of course the tooth fairy really doesn’t exist in my house. I think we mention it a few times but the idea of some crazy woman coming into your house to take your teeth is a little creepy. What the hell does she do with the teeth anyway? I don’t think you can spin this in a good light. It could also be a little creepy to find out how she knows you’ve even lost a tooth. At least Santa has elves to do his work. What does she have? Orcs? Gremlins? Jawas? It can be quite perplexing. I just picture this fairy with millions of teeth and cackling as she strokes each one.

So if you are counting (or are a regular enough reader to pick up on it), I am not okay with a Bunny that leaves behind chocolate eggs or a fairy that pays children for their dead teeth. I am apparently okay with a fat old man that breaks into your house and leave presents and I suppose I am okay with a little naked cherub boy that shoots arrows through people’s hearts in the name of love. I am ambivalent on the Great Pumpkin.

I was going to post a picture of the Tooth Fairy but Google Images is a scary place. There are far too many men dressed up and no one seems to have a consensus on what the Tooth Fairy should look like. This is when we need Coke to use her as a marketing ploy.

So instead of searching the internet for a disturbing picture of a dude dressed up as a fairy, I will just use a disturbing picture of me dressed up as a fairy.

 

Politics and Pancakes

I am not sure if the current political climate is any different than 30 or 50 or 1000 years ago. The politicians don’t seem to be doing what is best for a city, province, or country but what is best for themselves or their egos. In Toronto Rob Ford won’t let the vision of subways die even though he gets stopped at every turn and it will cost the city a fortune to build. He still ploughs on claiming it is best for the city. While he may be right that subways would be best, there isn’t the money to pay for it. I know I would love to have a big SUV for driving to work in but I can’t afford a new car or the cost to maintain it. So I will go with what I can afford and what is best for me, not what I want the most. Saying, “The people want subways!” is true, however, I am sure if you asked them “Do you want to pay taxes?” there would be an easy answer to that one too.

In Ontario, McGuinty is no better. He commissioned a report that says we shouldn’t be doing All-Day Kindergarten but he will refuse to listen to it. Again, like Ford, this is an ego thing and not a “What’s best for Ontario thing”. Of course many people want All Day Kindergarten, it will save them on child care expenses, but that shouldn’t be the reason we keep it.

And at a Federal level there was a bill proposed to allow the police to access our internet/cell phone records without due process (and using the fight of Child Pornography as an excuse). This was proposed as the same people overturn the Long Gun Registry because it was an invasion of the rights of innocent people. This is said in the same breath as they want to invade the rights of everyone on the internet in Canada. Looking at it from a longer view the reason these two things are happening are clear. Conservative supporters want the long gun registry gone and the internet is a good target. Again, this isn’t about keeping Canada safe, it is about political gains in key demographics. Sad but true.

Maybe I should just go back to writing about food.

Yesterday was Fat Tuesday. I told my youngest son that it was Fat Tuesday and he gave me the strangest look. I promised him this wasn’t an insult to anyone but the real name of the day. I think he doubted me a little bit when I then referred to the same day as Pancake Tuesday. Thankfully I never called it Shrove Tuesday. That would have sent him over the edge. I would also have to explain what a Shrove was (and then I would have to explain penance and absolution).  I also didn’t call it Máirt Inide since I am not Irish (but I want to be!).  My point of all this nonsense was that I got a very big craving for pancakes. It is one of those foods that I took for granted and never really bothered with. However after seeing them on a plate with syrup, I really wanted to eat pancakes (and these ones were homemade, not boxed). But alas! I ate Turkey meatballs (which ended up being very tasty). Why were they tasty? Well, they were healthy and I only added thyme, seasoning salt, pepper, paprika, sage, nutmeg and rosemary.  I also cooked them in a frying pan without butter, oil or Pam. 

But I still wanted pancakes. With bacon.

And finally…

Lent starts today and I am not giving up anything. I have no idea what the hell I would even give up. I wouldn’t do it for religious reasons; I would do it to see if I could. The only thing available to be would be to give up coffee or touching myself. I am not about to do either. So I would be celebrating Lent but I could claim I am. This year for Lent I am giving up Coke! No Coke for me! I tried that once before and failed miserably. I can do it this year and it is certainly not cheating just because I already gave up Coke many months ago. Go Lent!

 

The Cookie Crumbles

The 2012 Family Day Weekend Cookie Cook-off is over! A new tradition that started earlier this week came to a conclusion on Saturday. My wife and I decided to bake a few cookies and see who could come up with the best recipe. Our judges would be 2 kids, their friend and whoever else we could sucker into eating our cookies. My recipe was inspired by a reader (although I did alter it slightly) and my wife’s came from somewhere else that I am not 100% sure of. Regardless of their origins (although a big thank you to someone I will call “Wesley’s Mum” is in order) we made a lot of cookies. My cookies came out pretty well and as you can see from the photo they look delicious. But since there is nothing that I do that is half-assed (I do everything whole-assed) I decided to make peanut butter cookies, sugar cookies and peanut-butter-chocolate cookies. And as you can see from the other photo, I think we had too many cookies.

But you must all want to know who won the cook-off. With a vote of 7 – 3, my cookies came out on top. The big vote came from my wife who conceded victory at the taste of my cookie which I may call Wesley’s Delight. I also got votes from her parents which were the clinchers. I only lost 3 votes due to a treacherous friend, his aging grandmother and my youngest son who must hate flavour.

Here is the winning recipe:

Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 .5 tablespoons applesauce

Cream margarine and sugars. Add eggs and vanilla, mix. Then add flour, soda, and salt. Once a soft dough is formed, mix in chocolate chips and applesauce. Drop formed balls on ungreased cookie sheet, bake at 375° for approx. 10 minutes.

The submitter of the recipe may notice a few subtle differences that may have pushed me over the edge, however, I think the applesauce is the ingredient that makes it work. Seriously bake these cookies and see. They are fantastic.

Side note: These are not Dooku friendly at all and I only got to eat 2 or 3 of them. Of course I also had to sample the plethora of other cookies I baked on Saturday.

I am also still waiting to be declared “SWEET GENIUS”. I think I deserve it.

 

Neil “Wheels” Hope, Hunting for Chefs and Deathly Burgers

In oddly timed news yesterday, I learned that Neil Hope or Derek “Wheels” Wheeler of Degrassi fame passed away. The strange part was that he died 5 years ago of “natural causes” at the age of 35. Whatever the reason he died, it is too bad. I didn’t know him so I can’t claim to be saddened by his death, however, I can remark upon his career. Wheels (like all the Degrassi characters) is a character that I grew up with. Neil wasn’t “Neil Hope” to me, he was Wheels. Many of the actors from Degrassi just always seemed like real people that were in your school. In particular, Wheels was that kid that was once your friend but as he got older you drifted apart. Once Wheels’ parents died he became that kid that shook your head at and just stopped hanging out with. Neil’s portrayal of the character made him seem real. None of the plot lines for the character seemed farfetched (except that unfortunate make out session with one of the twins..ew). He became the kind of kid that would steal from Joey’s Mom and blame others for it. He seemed like the kind of kid that would eventually get drunk and cause an accident. Of all the characters on Degrassi he seemed to be the most realistic and tragic.

So it is too bad that the Neil died. He seemed like a good guy that had dealt with very real demons in his past. His passing shouldn’t have gone unnoticed.

Elsewhere…

I have gone this entire week without any reference to Count Dooku (The Dukan Diet). While I am still following Count Dooku’s rules, I am not weighing myself everyday or getting obsessive about it. I realised that my life was too focused on every day weight loss and it was becoming unsustainable. I have reached my goal weigh range and I can’t worry about losing more. I will make sure I don’t gain a lot but I won’t worry about a few pounds here and there. So I think my weigh-ins will be Saturday mornings only and that will be it.

Exercise wise I am trying to make a good routine for myself. I have a bizarre love/hate with spinning. I tell myself I won’t go back but there I am on a bike a few times a week sweating my ass off. I also try and get BodyPump in a few times a week as well. I have found taking classes to be much more effective than trying to just workout on my own. It makes me push myself a little harder and it gives me a good time to end my workout. I also don’t spent time aimlessly walking around the gym.

Finally….

Another show that I completely intrigued by is Chef Hunter. I have only seen a few episodes but it is a very good show. It is just about finding an executive chef for a restaurant. The “competition” is very simple and relevant to the job. The contestants (2 or 3 of them) are to make food for the owners taking into consideration the client base of the restaurant and the costs of food. The second part is that each chef runs the restaurant for one night.  Then the decision is made. That’s it. There isn’t any making an entrée out of fish eyes and donkey dick. It is a real look at how the chefs would work in a kitchen. It’s a good show to watch. It is even nicer to know that the winners actually end up working in the position the show says (well one guy wanted too much money). I check the restaurants websites afterwards and sure enough the chefs are there. I think the show is great if you have any restaurant experience or have a desire to work in a restaurant. If you don’t have either of these things, then the show may be a tad boring.

And in stupid news….

This is one of those stories that can’t be true but it is.At the Heart Attack Grill in Las Vegas a man was eating the Triple Bypass Burger and had a heart attack. That’s right, at a restaurant with the slogan “A Taste Worth Dying For”, a man almost died because he was tasting it. Look at the burger the dude was eating. Look at it. No human should attempt to eat that. Thankfully the guy didn’t die, he was just sent to hospital and didn’t die. However, he did eat for free since the restaurant has a policy that anyone over 350lbs eats for free. This is one of those things in Vegas where “What Happens in Vegas Stays in Vegas” almost still applies since if you eat this burger you will apparent stay in Vegas forever. Cuz you’re dead.

 

Cookies are Better than Diamonds (well, not really)

I could write a whole novel on the recent Drummond Report about the finances of Ontario, but I won’t.  Most people don’t read this blog for my political views and my response is pretty simple. It sounds like we should do most of the things that are recommended. It would suck but there is little alternative. I am more interested to see the fallout if McGuinty does everything. It would leave Hudak is a very tough place to try and win an election. What would his campaign be? “Vote for Hudak! I would have done what McGuinty did too.” It would be a pretty weak campaign. Anyway….I won’t dwell on it.

I will dwell on something else.

The internet is full of recipes for the “Best Ever”. It can be very confusing to look for a good recipe when someone claims they have the best ever. It’s like that World’s Best Cup of Coffee in Elf. Who voted it the best cup of coffee?  And I really doubt it was.

Anyway…

My research for different recipes has led me down a few bad paths. I found one “best ever” sugar cookie recipe that seemed to be “most plain ever”. The recipe didn’t even include almond extract! (That’s a key ingredient in my opinion) I found a “Best” chocolate chip cookie recipe as well  and it looks good but I will have to compare it to another best recipe that has been offered to me. I am still waiting for the recipe and I plan on using it no matter what the ingredient call for. I will post a review of my baking here. I am sure I will be able to claim they are the “best ever”! I feel I have that authority. I have made claims of finding the “best” fajitas and the “best” salsa and I know I am not wrong. I have tried a lot of salsas.

So it seems I may have moved on from finding good fajitas (it has been over a month since I ate one…I thinks a trip to La Mexicana is in order soon) to baking a good cookie. While fajitas can make me happy, cookies make everyone happy. Maybe cookies should be used more often than flowers or diamonds. Sure they aren’t the healthiest things in the world but they can be great signs of love! Think about it. They are relatively inexpensive to make but they take a tremendous amount of effort to make (and an oven). What is more thoughtful a Tiffany diamond necklace or a cookie made from the heart? Exactly! A cookie is far more thoughtful. It can also taste delicious and you can eat diamonds.

But I am pretty sure a Tiffany necklace would be a better gift and probably get you laid. A cookie may just get a kiss.

So if you have the means buy the damn necklace and make a cookie! That would be perfect!

 

Down with February! Up with Cookies!

How can it be only Wednesday? I feel like the week has been long and it is only 3 days old. This does not bode well for the rest of my week. Sure we have a vacation day coming on Monday (it is not Restaurant Day) but it still feels like it is next year. I will blame February for this feeling. It is the shortest month but it feels like it lasts the longest.

This February has been especially messed up. The weather has been from spring like warm to arctic like winter in a matter of days. One weekend my son is outside playing basketball and the next they are building snow forts. How can we get acclimatized to this winter when the winter won’t decide what it wants to be? I wish I could find someone to protest to but there are a few things that stop me.

1)      I can’t decide if I should complain to Mother Nature, Gaia or God. Who controls the weather?

2)      I usually don’t protest anything because I am pretty lazy.

3)      What would my sign be? “Give the cold shoulder to winter?” or “sNOw more Winter!”

Maybe like a good Canadian I should just write a strongly worded letter and then acquiesce when I get a response that passively tells me to fuck off. I think that’s a better plan.

Elsewhere in the food world….

I have never been much of a baker. I have spent a lot of time cooking different types of food but I have never baked a pie, a cake, a cupcake or anything else. My only claim is baking sugar cookies. I have decided to change this. I want to learn more about all aspects of cooking and baking seems to be a good way to spend a day.  My first easy task will be baking a few different cookies. I’ve had a request to make chocolate chip and peanut butter cookies. I don’t have any set recipes for these cookies so I will have to look around. My inexperience in baking will be glaring while I am looking. I am not sure what makes a good chocolate chip cookie good. Is it the sugar? Is it the butter? The chocolate? Or is it something else entirely. So when I am baking these cookies with the intent to make them “Om my God, this is good” quality, I will be at a bit of a loss.  What the heck makes these things so good? I would love to say it is cinnamon and I have learned that cinnamon has a tonne of health benefits but it still takes bad in scrambled eggs. But that still doesn’t answer what makes really good chocolate chip cookies taste good.

So I will try a few different types of recipes and I may just subject my work colleagues to a variety of different cookies. Hopefully they will enjoy them and not focus too much on the fact that I constantly bring in food for them and but never eat it myself. They may think that I am either a poisoner or a vampire. And since I don’t sparkle in the sun light or stalk (date) girls that are over 100 years younger than me, they may assume I am trying poison them.  Thankfully cookies are the easiest thing to make people eat. These people never turn down cookies.